Sign the Petition to

Gina McCarthy, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator

We urge you to reject Dow’s request to use 2,4-D on its genetically engineered herbicide-tolerant corn and soy.

Rather than expanding the uses of 2,4-D, the EPA should ban this dangerous herbicide that is associated with serious health harms. 2,4-D has been linked to cancer, reproductive toxicity and endocrine disruption.

The dramatic rise in glyphosate use in conjunction with Roundup Ready crops tells us that widespread use of 2,4-D on corn and soy that is genetically engineered to tolerate the herbicide will create a surge in its application.

A team at the International Agency for Research on Cancer in France just published meta-analysis of 44 papers exploring the impacts of pesticide exposure on Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL).

The data on the phenoxy herbicides, including 2,4-D, is particularly chilling given that use of these herbicides has already gone up several-fold since bottoming out in the early 2000s, and could increase by fifty times if the use of 2,4-D on Dow’s herbicide tolerant crops is approved.

The phenoxies are clearly associated with three distinct types of NHL, with people exposed to the herbicides being about twice as likely to develop this form of cancer.

In addition to heightened cancer risks, the study also provides clear evidence that 2,4-D can cause developmental and reproductive damage.

The study, “Non-Hodgkin lymphoma and occupational exposure to agricultural pesticide chemical groups and active ingredients: a systematic review and meta-analysis,” is available at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24762670.

We urge EPA to reject Dow’s petition for use of 2,4-D on herbicide-tolerant corn and soy, and we call on your Agency to instead ban this dangerous herbicide.

Signed,

Organic Consumers Association

This petition closed over 3 years ago

How this will help

Dow's 2,4-D. It's half the formula for Agent Orange, the Vietnam War herbicide responsible for severe illnesses in people directly exposed to it, and also in their offspring and future...

Dow's 2,4-D. It's half the formula for Agent Orange, the Vietnam War herbicide responsible for severe illnesses in people directly exposed to it, and also in their offspring and future generations. It's a known cause of cancer in farmers who routinely use it on their crops.

Now, 2,4-D is about to be unleashed in greater strengths, in amounts estimated at more than 50 times what farmers are currently using.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture signaled
it will approve Dow's new Enlist-brand corn and soy crops, genetically
engineered to resist massive doses of 2,4-D. Even though the agency admits that if the new crops are approved, the annual use of 2,4-D would jump from 26 million pounds to 176 million pounds.

But the USDA isn't taking responsibility for paving the way for massive increases in the use of 2,4-D. Instead, the agency is passing the buck,
claiming that it's responsible only for approving the genetically
engineered seeds, not the new formulation of 2,4-D herbicide that will
be used on the crops.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is ultimately
responsible for approving a massive increase in the use of 2,4-D, say
the folks at the USDA.

Dow's 2,4-D toxicity is already so well-documented that in April 2012, the National Resources Defense Council pressed the EPA for a ban.

The "super weeds" spawned by Monsanto's first-generation of
herbicide-tolerant GMOs have already drastically increased the use of
2,4-D. In 2012, farmers used nearly four times as much 2-4, D as they did in 2005.

It's time for the EPA to step in and do its job to protect farmers,
consumers and the environment from the excessive use of dangerous
pesticides.

2,4-D is highly toxic. Some formulations are contaminated with dioxins. According to the World Health Organization, dioxins can cause reproductive and developmental problems, damage the
immune system, interfere with hormones and also cause cancer.

After investigative journalists ran a television documentary
revealing dangerous levels of dioxin had been found in common brands of
2,4-D, the Australian government cancelled the registrations of some
forms of 2,4-D and began reviewing the rest.

Even discounting dioxin contamination, 2,4-D ranks among the
world's most dangerous herbicides. The Natural Resources Defense Council
has pressed
for a ban. But the EPA is ignoring studies that show exposure to 2,4-D
could cause cancer, hormone disruption, genetic mutations and
neurotoxicity. Instead, EPA points to studies, financed by the 2,4-D
manufacturers and conducted by Dow, that minimize health risks.

In Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota, researchers
have found higher rates of certain birth defects in areas with the
highest use of 2,4-D.

Over the past 40 years, dozens of studies have been published linking 2,4-D and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL).

These studies
on 2,4-D and its link to cancer, as well as reproductive and
developmental damage, were recently compiled and analyzed by a team from
the International Agency for Research on Cancer in France, which
concluded that exposure to 2,4-D doubled the risk of NHL.

The American Cancer Society estimates
that, this year, about 70,800 people will be diagnosed with NHL and
18,990 people will die from this cancer. Since the 1970s, NHL cases have
doubled.

The more farmers use 2,4-D—or any herbicide or pesticide—the more these toxins end up on our food—and in our bodies.